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The Heart of Altruism Perceptions of a Common Humanity

Is all human behavior based on self-interest? Many social and biological theories would argue so, but such a perspective does not explain the many truly heroic acts committed by people willing to risk their lives to help others. In The Heart of Altruism, Kristen Renwick Monroe boldly lays the groundwork for a social theory receptive to altruism by examining the experiences described by altruists themselves: from Otto, a German businessman who rescued over a hundred Jews in Nazi Germany, to Lucille, a newspaper poetry editor, who, armed with her cane, saved a young girl who was being raped. Mon.

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  • "The Heart of Altruism explores the causes of altruism and asks what makes altruists different from other people. Through a careful narrative analysis of moving interviews with philanthropists, heroes, and rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe, Kristen Monroe rejects traditional explanations of altruism and argues that altruists have a different way of viewing the world. Where the rest of us see a stranger, altruists see a fellow human being. While factors as diverse as religion and genetics may contribute to the existence and development of what Monroe identifies as an altruistic perspective, it is the perspective itself that constitutes the heart of altruism. Monroe moves beyond discussing altruism as a substantive phenomenon, however, to treat altruism as an analytical tool to examine the widespread assumption that normal human behavior consists of the pursuit of individual self-interest. This assumption underpins many public policies and academic disciplines from economics and evolutionary biology to psychology, and permeates social science through rational choice theory. Monroe debunks the notions of scientific inevitability that stem from an overemphasis on self-interest, arguing that self-interest may form a useful starting point for explicating human behavior but leaves unexplained many important forms of human action. Her insightful analysis of the limitations of theories based on self-interest is complemented by the presentation of her own theory of ethical political behavior, a theory that suggests it is how we see ourselves in relation to others that sets and delineates the range of options we find available, both empirically and morally."
  • "Is all human behavior based on self-interest? Many social and biological theories would argue so, but such a perspective does not explain the many truly heroic acts committed by people willing to risk their lives to help others. In The Heart of Altruism, Kristen Renwick Monroe boldly lays the groundwork for a social theory receptive to altruism by examining the experiences described by altruists themselves: from Otto, a German businessman who rescued over a hundred Jews in Nazi Germany, to Lucille, a newspaper poetry editor, who, armed with her cane, saved a young girl who was being raped. Mon."@en
  • "Is all human behavior based on self-interest? Many social and biological theories would argue so, but such a perspective does not explain the many truly heroic acts committed by people willing to risk their lives to help others. In The Heart of Altruism, Kristen Renwick Monroe boldly lays the groundwork for a social theory receptive to altruism by examining the experiences described by altruists themselves: from Otto, a German businessman who rescued over a hundred Jews in Nazi Germany, to Lucille, a newspaper poetry editor, who, armed with her cane, saved a young girl who was being raped. Monroe's honest and moving interviews with these little-known heroes enable her to explore the causes of altruism and the differences between altruists and other people. By delineating an overarching perspective of humanity shared by altruists, Monroe demonstrates how social theories may begin to account for altruism and debunks the notions of scientific inevitability that stem from an overemphasis on self-interest.As Monroe has discovered, the financial and religious backgrounds of altruists vary greatly--as do their views on issues such as welfare, civil rights, and morality. Altruists do, however, share a certain way of looking at the world: where the rest of us see a stranger, altruists see a fellow human being. It is this perspective that many social theories overlook. Monroe restores altruism to a general theory of ethical political behavior. She argues that to understand what makes one person act out of concern for others and not the self, we need to ask how that individual's perspective sets the range of options he or she finds available."

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  • "Electronic books"@en
  • "Electronic books"
  • "Electronic resource"

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  • "The Heart Of Altruism Perceptions Of A Common Humanity"
  • "The Heart of Altruism Perceptions of a Common Humanity"
  • "The Heart of Altruism Perceptions of a Common Humanity"@en
  • "The heart of altruism : perceptions of a common humanity"@en
  • "The heart of altruism : perceptions of a common humanity"
  • "The heart of altruism"
  • "The heart of altruism perceptions of a common humanity"@en
  • "The heart of altruism perceptions of a common humanity"

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